Thursday, November 29, 2007

Fox News as an Industry Joke

"We paid $3 billion for these television stations. We will decide what the news is. The news is what we tell you it is!"-- alleged comment by David Boylan, station manager for Fox Tampa Bay (WTVT Ch 13) to two reporters who are currently suing the network for firing them and censoring a story about the use of bovine growth hormone in Florida cows"

Good ole' Fox news. There are plenty of articles and documentaries done about them. They're biased. They're profit-hungry. And they're telling you what the news is. Pretty scary huh?

According to an article written by Ron Kaufman, "Relying on the Fox News Channel as your only source of news is like using MAD Magazine as a legitimate source of news. The Fox News Channel's reporting style is so biased and skewed that trying to obtain any real information from a news report is quite challenging. Fox News is a joke because it provides info-tainment rather than reality-based news coverage. Fox News Channel is a "news channel" in name only."

Most news stations are sensationalists that do have a motive to get profit. Yet, I agree that Fox news takes it too far. Fox doesn't tell the news, they comment on it. Their reporters are so biased and overwhelming that other opinions don't stand a chance. Fox news has gotten a steady increase in viewers, although, I credit that to the fact that they are entertainment news rather than truth telling, hard news.

So why is Fox news so popular? According to Ron, "Basically, it's entertaining. The Fox News Channel is colorful, positive and engaging with good-looking anchors and an up-beat style. The network uses flashy graphics and triumphant music to punctuate its programs. " And I have to agree. Watch Fox news anytime this week and you'll see the same thing. Flashy graphics of the American Flag and energetic anchors.

And then there's Murdoch, head of News Corp. He's created a worldwide empire. But Murdoch understands that controlling much of media is centered upon money and power. If you have the viewers, then you the ability to show whatever you want. So are people being manipulated to watch what they think is news? Are people being informed so that they candebate and make decisions? It all goes back to the idea that America is a democratic nation and is so becuase people are able to think for themselves.

Los Angeles Times Editor John S. Carroll says that "Fox News is that it is situated somewhere between journalism and propaganda -- but leans closer to straight ahead attack politics. The perversion of the Fox News Channel is that it is nothing more than a pulpit for the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party. The Fox News Channel presents sprinkles of news punctuated with interviews and commentary which promotes its own viewpoint."

"The problem with the Fox News Channel is NOT that it supports the Republican Party or conservative views. The problem is that Fox News distorts the news to serve its purpose so much, that fact and reality are lost in a sea of half-truths and innuendo."